The Superman Family
by Nerdspringer
Summary: A tale of the Kent dynasty from 1916 to the present day. Set in a universe similar to that of Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.


Note: This story is influenced by the various Wold Newton websites and the _Smallville_ tv series.

**The Superman Family**

Chapter 1

The story of the Kent dynasty began in the year 1918, just after the end of World War I, when famed adventurer archaeologist Clark Savage delivered a seemingly normal two-year-old child to Jonathan and Martha Kent. The doctor stated, "This child, which has been dubbed as 'the Traveler' was discovered by Army officers who tracked down a mysterious spaceship. I had been called due to my expertise on strange phenomena and decided that the infant should be allowed a normal life until he manifests any strange powers or abilities. To maintain the secrecy of his origins, the government has given me this fabricated birth certificate."

At first, the couple was skeptical, until Savage through the red cloth that the baby was wrapped around into the fireplace. The Kents were amazed that the cloth showed no signs of burning. After a short period of discussion, the couple agreed to raise the boy as a normal child. After he left, the new parents decided to name their boy Clark.

Clark Kent's abilities first manifested at the age of thirteen when he was practicing football and noticed that he discovered that he possessed super-speed. When he asked his Ma and Pa Kent about it, they told him the true story. Throughout the next eight years, young Clark became a great hero in Smallville, developing and harnessing his powers. He disliked having to hide his abilities, but his parents insisted that others would treat him like a weird freak otherwise.

Even though he desired to live the life a normal person, Clark was not beyond using his powers to save innocent lives. Initially, he only rescued people from accidents and natural disasters, but he realized that he could use his abilities to fight those who harmed others. He learned that there was a large presence of metahumans who had been mutated by radioactive meteors that had accompanied the crashing of his spaceship. Many times throughout his adolescence, he bravely fought 'meteor freaks' who used their abilities for evil instead of good.

Fortunately, Clark discovered that he was not the only potential hero who had special abilities. During his teen years, he met a few others of diverse origins who dedicated themselves to fighting evil. One early ally was Jay Garrick, who was the son of a test subject from the Super-Soldier project during the Great World War and had the ability of super-speed. Another was Arthur MacKenzie, the hybrid offspring of a human sea captain and a member of the underwater Dyzan race.

One day, at the store, Clark Kent bought and read an issue of the _Doc Savage_ pulp magazine, which was a fictionalized account of the adventures of son of the very man who had given him to his parents. The senior Savage had hired some of the nation's finest scientists and detectives to train his own son, Clark, Jr., to become a great genius and crimefighter. Clark began to suspect that the great Doc Savage might have provide some clues to his own origins.

In the summer of 1937, Clark left Smallville to visit the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, where Doc Savage worked. He knocked on the door to the reception room and opened after a deep voice said, "Come in." Soon, he saw the doctor, who was not as quite as tall as he appeared on the cover on the magazines, but still was obviously a very good bodybuilder.

Clark said to Doc, "My name is Clark Kent. Nineteen years ago, your father delivered me to my adopted parents. During the past few years, I've discovered that I can do many things like run faster than a train or jump really high. I was hoping that you might privde some insight into where I came from and why I have these strange powers."

"I do know about the Smallville Incident from my father's secret data tapes, which I inherited after his death. He did mention that the baby was delivered to a Jonathan and Martha Kent and kept under military surveillance."

"What happened to the spaceship?" Clark asked, without hesitation.

"It's now in a top secret government warehouse in Area 51."

"How many know about the truth of my origins, besides my parents and a few of my friends?"

"Right now, about a dozen military intelligence personnel, mostly retired, along with my father's former assistants. Fortunately, he was able to hold on to a data tape compatible with the latest supercomputers. Evidently whoever sent you had good foresight into Earth's technological progression."

"You mean something that might finally tell me where I came from and who my real parents were?"

"Yes. If you want, I can take you to a secret location in the Arctic that I call the Fortress of Solitude."

With a great amount of excitement, Clark asked, "How long would the trip take?"

Three days later, after traveling by Doc's autogyro, the two arrived at the Fortress of Solitude, a hidden base where Doc often went to concentrate on the latest breakthroughs in science, medicine and technology. Despite the fact that it was located on an isolated island in the Arctic, Clark found that he didn't feel very cold.

The doctor said to the young Clark, "Welcome to my Fortress. Here is my supercomputer, the most powerful of its kind to date. I've secretly designed with the help of a few other super-geniuses."

Clark responded, "That looks pretty impressive. I've read about computers, but have never seen one myself. It's a good thing your dad had a lot of wealth."

"Yes, although sometimes I wish he had put it to better uses."

Doc Savage placed the data tape into the supercomputer. On a monitor, the black and white image of a middle-aged man in ornate robes said, "Hello, my son. Your true name is Kal-El, and as you may have realized by now, you are not a human born on Earth. You may be wondering why I am capable of speaking English. The truth is, I've visited Earth as part of a coming-of-age journey sixty years ago. My name is Jor-El and I am a chief scientist from the planet Krypton, one of the many Alteran colonies. By the time you have received this message, Krypton has blown up due to geologic instability and you may be the last of your kind."

Just the thought of being the only living member of his species shocked Clark, but he continued to listen to the man claiming to be his father.

"Fortunately, you are biologically compatible with the humans of Earth, so you your self might have descendents. To learn more about your people, first you should go to the city of Agartha. There, you will find the Crystal of Knowledge, which contains all of the knowledge of your homeworld. When you find it, you will know what to do with it. Good-bye, Kal-El." After the man claiming to be Clark's father finished saying those words, the monitor went blank.

Doc, after a short piece of hesitation, said, "Agartha? That's a mysterious underground city located under Tibet. My father visited that place once, but was strictly forbidden to take any photographs or tell anyone the location of its entrance. It is the home to the ancient being, Mr. Am, who runs a secret brotherhood devoted to training and breeding special people in order to protect the world from evil forces."

"I thought that Agartha was just an old Hollow Earth story."

"Much of what is written down it by Theosophists and similar esotericists is false, but even the strangest stories have a ring of truth behind them," Doc explained, "Agartha is real, but certainly nowhere near Earth's core."

After a long period of searching and following Doc Savage's notes, Clark, aided by a Sherpa guide, found the secret entrance to Agartha, which was hidden by a holographic covering. The Sherpa said that he could no longer come with him and returned to his home village. Clark traveled through a series of vast tunnels until he found a large city under a ceiling of glowing rock.

One thing he noticed was that the city was the most diverse society that he had ever seen. Whites, blacks, Asians, Native Americans, and all other sorts walked together as if they were one people. Clark attempted to talk to them, but none of them were able to speak English or any other language that he was familiar with. A man in armor arrived with a sword and said, in English, "Greetings, outsider. I am Tsiang Meuh, a member of the Agarthan Guard. What is your purpose here?"

Clark said, "My name is Clark Kent. I was born on the planet Krypton and I was told that there is a Crystal of Knowledge here which could reveal the story of my home world."

Meuh replied, "That story sounds plausible. Mr. Am has told the members of my organization that one day, the last son fo Krypton would come here and you certainly look the right age. Of course, you would have to see Mr. Am yourself so that he can determine you are who you say you are."

Within an hour, Clark was brought into a vast palace unlike he had ever seen. Many people walked down its halls dressed in robes and speaking in a variety of languages. Soon, he was brought to a large room where an old man sat in a throne with a miniature dragon on his lap. The old man greeted Clark by saying, "Greetings, Kal-El. I have been expecting you for a very long time, even before your father was an infant."

Clark was amazed and asked, "You know about my father? Have you been in communication with him?"

"I have observed his short visit to Earth, but did not directly talk to him. It is good that I talk to you because I have also come from a distant world.

"What world are you from?"

"I hail from the world Arisia, which is 24,067 light-years away from here. My people are distant descendents of the first sentient beings to evolve in the galaxy. We are dedicated to watching the evolution of younger species. I have come here to protect humanity from powers of evil in all incarnations."

"What kind of evil powers"

"There are beings in this universe who will do anything to get power. Some will destroy or enslave other species in order to achieve it. One such race of beings, the Great Old Ones, is present on Earth, but lurking in the shadows. They usually feed on negative emotions and will corrupt human minds to their own ends. Defeating them and their worldly followers is necessary for humanity's spiritual evolution."

"And you expect me to fight these beings. I would love to do so, but even I can't do it all by myself."

"Don't worry, last son of Krypton. For more than five thousand years, I have been in charge of a breeding program devoted to creating powerful metahumans who can defend this world. You've already met some of them in your youth. In fact, the US government has already been working on a Super Soldier program ever since the first world war, to increase the ranks of active metahumans."

Clark replied, "Why would they do that? While I believe that most humans are good, there will always be some who would use their abilities for evil."


End file.
